SCOOBA — Having played football his entire life, East Mississippi Community College defensive lineman Ronald Ollie knows the length of a football field.
However, Ollie had never really thought about how much of that field he could cover with the other team in pursuit in live action.
Ollie returned a fumble 24 yards for the go-ahead touchdown Thursday night at Sullivan-Windham Field. From there, the floodgates opened as No. 1 EMCC beat Southwest Mississippi C.C. 69-20 in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) season opener for both teams.
“I really need to work on my touchdown dance,” Ollie said with a wide grin in the locker room after the game. “The ball was loose and I knew I picked it up around the 20-yard line. I am not supposed to score touchdowns, so my thought was how fast are the guys who are going to be trying to catch me.”
With the teams tied at 14, Ollie stripped quarterback Tyler Shell around the 25. The ball bounced twice and fell into the hands of Ollie at the 24. The lineman then became a running back and lumbered toward the end zone.
“I have to admit, I was so tired,” Ollie said. “Then I fumbled it myself around the 5-yard line and it was like please let me fall on it one more time and I have the touchdown. Thank goodness, I did.”
Ollie lost the handle around the 4 and fell on the loose ball in the end zone for EMCC’s first defensive score of the season. The “big man” touchdown also re-energized the team.
EMCC tacked on two field goals from Grayson Pontius for a 27-14 halftime lead. The second half was a rout. After Southwest pulled within 27-20, a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown by Isaiah Wright kick-started a 42-point run that put an exclamation point on EMCC’s 25th-straight win.
“There were some things we didn’t see over the summer,” EMCC freshman linebacker De’Arius Christmas said. “(Southwest) did some things with the tight end we hadn’t seen. Once we made some adjustments, we really got things rolling.”
EMCC had 726 yards of total offense — the third-highest output in Buddy Stephens’ eight seasons as coach. The Lions had near-perfect balance on offense (374 passing yards, 352 rushing yards) as two quarterbacks and three running backs did the bulk of the damage.
Sophomore Wyatt Roberts, a former standout at Louisville High School, drew his first career start at quarterback. John Franklin III, a transfer from Florida State, also came on to throw three touchdowns. Stephens said both quarterbacks will play a lot in the future.
EMCC ran 97 offensive plays — 40 more than Southwest.
EMCC had two turnovers in the first five minutes that helped SWMCC build a 14-7 advantage. Once that issue got resolved, the Bears stood no chance. Ollie evened the turnover stat sheet when he recovered another fumble forced by teammate DeShawn Tillman.
“We just have to keep getting better,” Ollie said. “There were some things we weren’t ready for when the game started, and that is not acceptable around here. The coaches always preach perfection, so on defense we have to pick it up a notch. The last two years, this team has had the best defense in the nation, so that is the expectation we are being asked to live up to. We are going to get there. We have too many really good players.”
Christmas and Ollie admitted the best thing about playing defense at EMCC is the chance to go up against one of the nation’s premier offenses every day in practice.
“Our offense doesn’t make it fun on us in practice,” Ollie said. “We have receivers that are really fast. We have running backs that are really fast. Try to chase (Wright) or (Franklin) across a football field. That is no fun. The best thing about finally playing a game is the quarterback is live.
“I think the best thing about tonight was getting a chance to hit the quarterback. You could tell we had them rattled on offense after the first quarter. They pretty much ran out of things to do.”
D.J. Law and Jacquez Horsley eclipsed the 100-yard mark to lead the rushing attack. Roberts and Franklin threw for better than 170. In typical EMCC fashion, 11 players caught balls, including former Aberdeen High standout Sammie Burroughs (three catches), who missed virtually all of last year with an injury. Former Aliceville High standout Mario Lanier also caught a touchdown in his EMCC debut.
EMCC added the typical two non-offensive touchdowns with Wright’s kick return and Ollie’s fumble return. The Lions committed only five penalties and were turnover-free after the bad stretch to start the game.
“There was so much to like tonight,” Stephens said. “I don’t know what the final record will be, but this is the most talented team we have had since I have be here. There is so much room to grow, and we know we have to play much better next week (against No. 7 Copiah-Lincoln C.C. in Wesson).
“You saw tonight what we are working with. You saw where this team can go. Now we just have to work hard and get there.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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